REAL FINE LINE
This was a tour de force from the Rangers third line, and that type of depth is exactly what gives this organization confidence for the time when the snow thaws and the games start meaning more.
As Kevin Hayes (three assists), Michael Grabner (one goal) and J.T. Miller (two goals) combined for six points, the Rangers overcame a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Predators, 4-3, on Thursday night at the Garden.
And very much unlike their NBA brethren who share this iconic arena, the Blueshirts are winning and doing it with very little drama, having now taken four in a row and started this four-game homestand against Western Conference teams with three straight victories.
“When you’re not scoring, the fans aren’t too happy with you,” said Hayes, who hasn’t missed a step since returning two games ago following a five-game absence due to a presumed leftknee injury. “You never want to be injured, and I thought I was playing pretty well leading up to the injury. When you’re playing with good players, you’re going to get points.”
Hayes now has 26 assists and 39 points on the season, while Grabner is leading the team with 26 goals — the same as Washington’s Alex Ovechkin — and Miller has 18 goals and a team-high 44 points. The trio has been together through most of this season, and their ability to be consistently productive has created matchup problems for the opposition. It has also propelled the Rangers (35-18-1) into the role as one of the league’s most potent offenses, as this run at home finishes when the lowly Avalanche come to the Garden on Saturday night.
“I think Kevin and J.T. can make plays with the puck, and there’s no doubt that Grabs, with his speed, allows them to get a little more open space,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “They’re playing extremely well right now.”
When thinking about this newfound depth, captain Ryan McDonagh went back to a comparison that surely bodes well.
“You talk about that depth up front, we haven’t had that all the way through the lineup, with the speed, since our Cup run,” McDonagh said, referring to his team’s march to the 2014 Stanley Cup final, where they lost to the Kings in five games.
It wasn’t looking great early on, when the Predators (26-20-8) got a goal from Cody McLeod in front at 16:39 of the first, and followed it up with a power-play tally from Calle Jarnkork at 3:50 of the second to take that two-goal advantage. But Henrik Lundqvist continued his own personal resurgence, displaying what is distinctly a more aggressive style while making a few big stops to keep the deficit at 2-0.
“Tonight, the game is real simple: It’s 2-0, and he has two key saves to make and he makes them,” Vigneault said. “You talk about timely saves, that’s what it was right there.”
Just after Lundqvist robbed Ryan Johansen midway through the second, Grabner had a great backcheck, stripping Roman Josi, and Hayes made a great pass in tight quarters back to Grabner, who roofed it to cut the lead to 2-1. Hayes was then incredibly patient while leading a 2-on-1, setting up Miller for his first at 14:58 of the second, taking a 2-2 game into the third.
The go-ahead goal came when Mats Zuccarello fired a prayer toward the net off the left wall and it deflected off Chris Kreider’s torso for his 22nd of the season, setting a career high. And then a McDonagh shot hit Miller in the leg with four minutes remaining to make it 4-2, which washed out the 6-on-4 goal scored by Josi with 2:01 left on the clock.
“I feel like we had good speed and good energy throughout the game,” Lundqvist said, “but sometimes all it takes is confidence. We gained some.”